Investigating potential hydrological ecosystem services in urban gardens through soil amendment experiments and hydrologic models

Among the ecosystem services provided by urban greenspace are the retention and infiltration of stormwater, which decreases urban flooding, and enhanced evapotranspiration, which helps mitigate urban heat island effects. Some types of urban greenspace, such as rain gardens and green roofs, are intentionally designed to enhance these hydrologic functions. Urban gardens, while primarily designed for food production and aesthetic benefits, may have similar hydrologic function, due to high levels of soil organic matter that promote infiltration and water holding capacity. We quantified leachate and soil moisture from experimental urban garden plots receiving various soil amendments (high and low levels of manure and municipal compost, synthetic fertilizer, and no inputs) over three years. Soil moisture varied across treatments, with highest mean levels observed in plots receiving manure compost, and lowest in plots receiving synthetic fertilizer. Soil amendment treatments explained little of the variation in weekly leachate volume, but among treatments, high municipal compost and synthetic fertilizer had lowest leachate volumes, and high and low manure compost had slightly higher mean leachate volumes. We used these data to parameterize a simple mass balance hydrologic model, focusing on high input municipal compost and no compost garden plots, as well as reference turfgrass plots. We ran the model for three growing seasons under ambient precipitation and three elevated precipitation scenarios. Garden plots received 12–16% greater total water inputs compared to turfgrass plots because of irrigation, but leachate totals were 20–30% lower for garden plots across climate scenarios, due to elevated evapotranspiration, which was 50–60% higher in garden plots. Within each climate scenario, difference between garden plots which received high levels of municipal compost and garden plots which received no additional compost were small relative to differences between garden plots and turfgrass. Taken together, these results indicate that garden soil amendments can influence water retention, and the high-water retention, infiltration, and evapotranspiration potential of garden soils relative to turfgrass indicates that hydrologic ecosystem services may be an underappreciated benefit of urban gardens.

Technological Application to Managing a Municipal Urban Garden

The implementation of urban gardens, which are increasingly appearing in cities, aims to respond actively to the growing demand for urban spaces for the installation of urban gardens, creating conditions for the practice of sustainable agriculture in an urban context. Through these initiatives, it is intended to ensure that the needs of the population are met and to maximize the benefits arising from the practice of urban agriculture, both for the environment and for people's quality of life. Technology is a facilitating element in the process of acquiring and maintaining these urban gardens. This chapter presents an app that can be used by farmers to manage the production of consumer goods in this space, providing information about the status of crops, products to be grown, and types of required maintenance. This app simplifies the production process and also increases the sustainability of agriculture activities considering the economic, social, and logistical dimensions.

Orti urbani in Italia oggi: una molteplicità tipologica per supplire a carenze strutturali

We consider the theme of urban gardens as a privileged observation of socioeconomic and environmental changes in a city. These can be highlighted inside urban areas, in historical city centres or even in suburban places. During the nineteenth-century new allotments where an opportunity for workers of the industry as a food integration but also to improve health and relational aspects. The situation has not changed, and we can see how societies satisfy these needs: the more complex, nowadays a city becomes, in its forms, functions and ways of interacting, the greater the utility of a multiform and always changing horticultural activity.

public spaces

Nowadays, one can hardly deny the importance of the system of public spaces. Its role as an integral element of urban infrastructure is actively studied, yet not fully comprehended. This section presents a collection of publications devoted to the history of the question using the example of public spaces in Krasnoyarsk. The therapeutic role of urban gardens is an example of the innovative approach of the Crimean scientists to the problem of the city infrastructure.Philosophy of separate objects is discussed in the articles of our regular authors. The fountain and the city well, of course, are both part of the public spaces and part of the engineering infrastructure that (for free!) ensures life of the city and citizens. The city is indeed rooted in wells.

Urban Gardens as Sustainable Attractions for Children in Family Tourism

Most of the global population live in urban environments and the majority of tourist flows are concentrated in cities. Urban agriculture has recently emerged as an avenue for the protection of sustainable food production and the promotion of sustainable food consumption. Also, the relationships between horticulture and tourism are attracting growing interest in the context of urban studies. Drawing on a qualitative approach based on ten semi-structured interviews, this research analyzes the relationship between urban gardens and family tourism. The paper innovatively contributes to the understanding of gardens as an urban attraction that improves the sustainable production and consumption of food in the context of family tourism experiences. The results show the relevance of urban gardens for the creation of sustainable experiences that engage families with local food, enhance local supply chains, and inform the future of urban environments. Urban gardens are a visitor attraction that may lead to the development of sustainable people, places and products, and they represent the sustainable integration of horticulture in tourism based on participatory experiences, direct contact with the natural environment and the discovery of the origin of food.

Allelopathic potential of Ficus retusa L. leaf litter on understory vegetation in urban gardens

Pruning Ficus trees in urban green spaces may lead to the accumulation and spread of their leaf litter on the understory vegetation. This study was conducted to evaluate the allelopathic effect of Ficus retusa L. leaf litter on the understory species in urban gardens. A field study showed that the plant cover and species richness of litter-affected plots were lower than those of litter-free areas. The litter-affected soils had substantially lower pH and higher electrical conductivity. In a greenhouse experiment, litter-affected soil significantly inhibited the emergence and growth of understory species selected for the purpose of this study: Melilotus indicus (L.) All., Trifolium resupinatum L. and Amaranthus viridis L. Osmotic potentials equivalent to those of the litter-affected soils did not affect emergence or growth of these species. A spectrophotometric analysis indicated that the litter-affected soils contained larger amounts of phenolics and flavonoids. An HPLC analysis revealed that the litter-affected soils contained higher concentrations of free phenolic and flavonoid allelochemicals. These results demonstrate that F. retusa leaf litter may reduce plant cover and species richness. The significant inhibition in both field and greenhouse experiments could be attributed to phenolic and flavonoid allelochemicals released from the tree litter, as the osmotic potential of the litter had no effect on the understory species. The allelopathic potential of F. retusa leaf litter plays at least a partial role in reducing urban vegetation.

Melanogaster coccolobae sp. nov. (Paxillaceae, Boletales), a tropical hypogeous fungus from the urban areas of Quintana Roo, Mexico

Background and Aims: The genus Melanogaster is characterized by its hypogeous to semi hypogeous habit, brownish basidiomata, gel-filled gleba locules, and globose to ellipsoid basidiospores. The genus is distributed in temperate zones, but sequences from Coccoloba root tips and a few basidiome collections have revealed its presence in the tropics. The aim of this article is to describe a new species of Melanogaster based on ecological, molecular, and morphological data. Methods: Specimens were collected in urban vegetation of Quintana Roo in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. For morphological description, the classic protocols for sequestrate fungi were followed. The dried material was deposited in the mycological herbarium “José Castillo Tovar” of the Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Victoria (ITCV) and the herbarium of the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY). Key results: Melanogaster coccolobae is presented as a new species from the urban gardens of Quintana Roo based on ecological, molecular, and morphological evidence. This species is characterized by its hypogeous to semi hypogeous basidioma, greyish orange, brown to reddish brown peridium composed of two layers, sweet smell, subglobose, ellipsoid or piriform basidiospores, and by its mycorrhizal association with Coccoloba spicata. Conclusions: Melanogaster coccolobae is the first species described from the Mexican Caribbean from urban gardens with Coccoloba spicata. More studies about the tropical sequestrate fungi are recommended.

Derivation of Necessary Items for Implementation of Gardens in Urban Agricultural Parks

Background and objective: This study was conducted to obtain empirical data for deriving necessary items for the creation and management of gardens in urban agricultural parks while maintaining the publicness of the place by examining the difference in perception among park visitors about the gardens in the public parks. Methods: A survey was conducted on users of urban agricultural parks in 6 locations and 113 copies of the questionnaire were collected. After understanding the demographic characteristics and the current use of the garden, we identified the importance of the necessary items for the public gardens. Results: 108 subjects(95.6%) responded that gardens are needed in urban parks, for psychological and emotional health (26.2%) and for interaction and friendship with family and neighbors(23.2%). For use of garden crops, most were private sales(96 subjects, 64.4%), and both sales preferred to partially donate their crops. Most used communal gardens operated by public institutions(30.1%). It was found that 96.4% of the respondents were satisfied with gardening activities, and 107(94.7%) of them showed their intention to participate in the gardening in the future. The Kaiser Meyer Olkin value was .848 and the significance level was .001, proving the validity of factor analysis. The factors were named composition elements(Factor 1), management items(Factor 2), convenience elements(Factor 3), and operational facilities(Factor 4). In the survey on the creation and management of gardens in urban agricultural parks, there were no statistically significant differences, but all items had correlations. Conclusion: The results have reflected the needs of actual users in establishing the plans to operate urban gardens, thereby having great utility value as the basic data for continuous garden management. Further research can be conducted to derive detailed elements that can guarantee sustainability of urban gardens and suggest high-quality data for management of gardens in urban agricultural parks.